Supreme Court rejects Presidential Reference under Article 317(1) of the Constitution and finds the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission member not guilty of ‘misbehaviour’, stating, “Actions don’t even meet the threshold of misbehaviour,” ensuring immediate reinstatement.
The justices concluded that the charges against Bage did not rise to the level of “misbehaviour,” nor did they even constitute a “lapse,” which is a less stringent standard.
The bench stated,
“The actions alleged against the Respondent do not meet the threshold of ‘misbehaviour’; rather, they do not even meet the threshold of ‘lapse’ which has a lower threshold. It is not a case where the Respondent was unable to maintain the standard of conduct expected of a Member of a Commission and her actions alone brought disrepute to the APPSC,”
The court emphasized,
“In view of the foregoing, the inescapable conclusion on the allegations of charges as made in the reference is that the allegations have not been proved. In terms of Order XLIII Rule 5 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 and answering the reference under Article 317(1) of the Constitution of India, this report with recommendation shall be sent to the President of India that the charges as alleged do not bring about any act of ‘misbehaviour’ by Ms. Mepung Tadar Bage for taking action within its contours.”
Additionally, the court criticized the state government’s decision to recommend a Presidential reference under Article 317(1), which states that a public service commission member can only be removed by presidential order for proven misbehaviour.
The court found this recommendation to be “arbitrary, unfair and discriminatory.”
The justices noted that after the question paper leak for the Assistant Engineer (Civil) Mains Examination, the state referred the matter to an Inquiry Committee, resulting in the resignation of the APPSC chairman and members on moral grounds.
Following their resignations, two of those members were appointed to other significant positions within the state government.
The bench remarked,
“If the members of the APPSC who were allegedly collectively found involved in the paper leak as per the letter of Chief Minister, later resigned and got assignment of new posts by the State, it is a question to ponder upon, which ought to be looked into by the State especially so when Article 319(d) of the Constitution of India bars members of a State Public Service Commission from taking up any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State after they cease to be in office.”
The court further observed that the state’s actions in assigning new roles to these members suggest a lack of evidence against them regarding personal misconduct.
“In view of the above, on taking a holistic approach to the charges framed in the present reference and having gone through the voluminous record and evidence which has been brought before us, juxtaposed against the body of judicial precedent in the form of previous reports under Article 317 of the Constitution of India which guide our decision-making in the present reference, it is difficult to see how the allegation of ‘misbehaviour’ on the part of the Respondent has been proved.”
The justices acknowledged the high standards expected of public service commission members, but warned that any inquiry leading to their removal must be approached with caution.
Noting that Article 317 aims to protect commission members from political pressure and interference, they concluded,
“In the present case, after appreciation of evidence, we can see that from the very inception, from the report of the Inquiry Committee, no specific allegation against the Respondent qua any of the six charges was levelled,”
Case Title: In Re: Mepung Tadar Bage, Member, Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission
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